Vikings stadium: Ryan Cos. to negotiate contract for parking plan

By Nick Woltmannwoltman@pioneerpress.com

Posted:
07/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
07/26/2013 11:10:17 AM CDT

Twin Cities developer Ryan Cos. unveiled plans Tuesday, May 14, 2013, for a $400 million mixed-use development adjacent to the planned new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Ryan is buying five blocks from the Star Tribune Co. for the project, which will include office space, retail, housing and a public park. (Courtesy of Ryan Cos.)

A proposed $400 million mixed-use development to complement the planned new Vikings stadium east of downtown Minneapolis cleared another hurdle Monday.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which is overseeing stadium development, chose developer Ryan Cos. to negotiate a contract with its staff and the city of Minneapolis to build about 1,700 parking stalls in two ramps adjacent to the stadium site.

Having Ryan Cos. develop the stadium parking was seen as essential for completion of the broader project, which calls for building up and beautifying five largely underused city blocks east of downtown.

"We're making great progress," Rick Collins, Ryan Cos.' vice president of development, said after Monday's vote. "We had to get through this very important approval today ... but we're on schedule and moving forward."

Collins added that Ryan Cos. hopes to break ground in April 2014 and complete the parking project toward the end of 2015.

The state-appointed MSFA doesn't need to vote again to approve the contract that is agreed upon, which could be in the next two weeks. MSFA Chairwoman Michelle Kelm-Helgen emphasized Monday that costs of the parking project would fall within the stadium's $975 million price tag.

Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. edged out two competing bids for the parking structures from Minneapolis developers Basant Kharbanda and Vedi Associates.

Advertisement

All three companies submitted their bid packages May 20.

Ryan's success in the competition for the parking contract was the first of three steps necessary to move forward the much-publicized larger development that would transform the blocks of downtown real estate owned by the Star Tribune.

The project, which was unveiled May 14 by Ryan, the Star Tribune and the city of Minneapolis, includes a roughly 9-acre public park, 1.16 million square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail and 300 housing units.

Under that plan, Ryan would buy the five blocks from the Star Tribune and the newspaper would move its headquarters. The terms of that sale have not been disclosed.

The parking facilities Ryan will build are mandated in the stadium legislation passed by the Minnesota Legislature during its 2012 session. The stadium will be built on the site of the Metrodome, where the Vikings currently play.

The ramps would be funded by the MSFA and the city. Revenue generated would be applied to pay off bonds the city will issue for its share of the parking facilities and the two-block public park also included in the proposal. Ryan has guaranteed at least the first 10 years of the city's bond payments.

Under the proposal accepted by the MSFA, Ryan will build a 1,334-stall parking ramp on the McClellan block, to the immediate north of the stadium site, where 574 spaces will be reserved for season ticket holders, and a 400-stall ramp on the other side of Chicago Avenue, which borders the stadium to the west. Ryan also proposes that the MSFA acquire the 455-stall underground Downtown East ramp currently owned by Alatus.

Although the MSFA's request for proposals called for a total of 2,500 parking spaces within two blocks of the stadium, the Ryan proposal approved by the MSFA falls 311 short.

Ryan Cos.' Collins said the MSFA would likely lease the remaining stalls from existing nearby facilities.

The project's next test will likely be the approval of the Minneapolis City Council and could be decided as soon as the council's July 19 meeting. The issue is currently in the hands of the city's Community Development Committee and is expected to be on the agenda July 9.

The project's final hurdle will be securing a corporate tenant for the office space. Wells Fargo is the heavy favorite, but the banking company has not committed.

"We are encouraged by the progress this step represents, and we continue to discuss this unique opportunity with Ryan," Wells Fargo spokesperson Cristie Drumm said in an email.

Collins estimated that construction of this aspect of the development would be completed sometime in 2016. The Vikings are scheduled to open the new stadium in 2016.

Nick Woltman can be reached at 651-228-5189. Follow him on Twitter at @nickwoltman.